Every year, when we analyse our students’ university destinations, we conclude that the current year is our best year ever. And every year it’s true. Our class of 2015 is another great cohort, full of ambitious and determined young people, spreading their wings and starting to consider how they can make a difference by acquiring a range of professional skills and qualifications. They have outperformed previous cohorts in many ways.

Key facts about the NewVIc class of 2015:

773 students progressed to higher education. Our highest number ever.

91% progression rate across all applicants; A-level and vocational. Our highest rate ever and well above the national average.

90 students progressed to Russell Group universities. Our highest number ever and up 22% over last year.

19% of A-level applicants progressed to Russell Group universities, up from 17% last year.

Where did they all go?

This year, we start by analysing the destinations of our cohort and any discernible trends. The usual breakdown by degree subject for A-level and vocational students will follow shortly.

Our ‘top 7’ university destinations account for over half the students progressing and this group has remained stable for the last 3 years: Westminster, East London (UEL), Middlesex, Greenwich, Queen Mary University of London, City University and London South Bank.

Going several years further back, the top 7 has always looked very similar but didn’t include City and generally included either London Metropolitan (currently 11th) or Kingston (currently 8th)

In terms of long term trends, the picture is one of great stability but with City University up and UEL down to 10% from a high of 20% in 2009, although it is still in the top 2. Outside the top 7, other universities showing strong increases include: Goldsmiths (+10), Hertfordshire (+9), University College London (UCL) and BPP (+8 each), Ravensbourne (+6), University of the Arts London (UAL) (+5). Many of these have accepted their highest ever number of NewVIc applicants this year.

18% of NewVIc students progressed to universities outside the London area which required them to live away from home. This is up from 13% last year with the increases spread across several universities: Leicester (+5), Portsmouth, Aston and Bedfordshire (+4 each) and Warwick, Essex, Swansea, Nottingham Trent and Canterbury Christchurch (+3 each).

The Russell Group list remains dominated by Queen Mary University of London which is hardly surprising as it is the nearest Russell Group institution to our college. It accounts for just over half of all NewVIc’s Russell Group places. Other key institutions are King’s College London (KCL) and University College London (UCL) with a good spread of students progressing to 14 other Russell Group universities. It’s also worth noting that, as usual, a good number of our vocational students also progressed to Russell Group universities, demonstrating that good vocational qualifications are valued by selective universities when they understand them well.

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About Eddie Playfair

I am a Senior Policy Manager at the Association of Colleges (AoC) having previously been a college principal for 16 years and a teacher before that.
I live in East London and I blog in a personal capacity about education and culture.
I also tweet at @eddieplayfair